Roundup: Peace talks between Greek, Turkish Cypriots to resume on May 15

The leaders of the estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus agreed to resume peace negotiations on May 15, after a hiatus of almost seven months, the United Nations announced on Monday.

United Nations emissary Espen Barth Eide said after hosting a dinner for President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci that they will kick off the negotiations by meeting in person again on Friday.

The negotiations were suspended at the end of last October after Turkey sent navy ships and a seismographic ship to explore for natural gas in an area claimed by the eastern Mediterranean island under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Monday's dinner was the first meeting between President Anastasiades, who leads the internationally recognized government of Cyprus and represents the Greek Cypriot community, and Akinci, a moderate politician who swept to an electoral victory last month on his promise to actively work for a Cyprus solution.

The United Nations, which has been brokering the negotiations for more than 40 years, as well as several countries have said that prospects for a Cyprus settlement have brightened up after Akinci's election.

Eide, acting as a special adviser of the U.N. Secretary General, said that at their new meeting on Friday Anastasiades and Akinci will exchange views on the procedure to be followed at the talks between their representatives.

"There is a unique opportunity for the solution of the Cyprus problem which the leaders of the two communities must take advantage of," Eide told journalists outside the Ledra Palace hotel, an eastern style building astride the Green Line dividing the Greek and Turkish Cypriot quarters of the capital Nicosia.

The Ledra Palace is being used exclusively for the operations of the United Nations since the 1974 fighting since when Cyprus was divided into Turkish-Cypriot occupied north and Greek-Cypriot occupied south.

"It is very good to work with the two leaders because they have a strong commitment and share the challenges to reach a solution through a joint effort," Eide said as Anastasiades and Akinci stood next to him.

He said that all involved in the effort will start working hard as of Friday.

He added that Anastasiades and Akinci agreed that it is important to take advantage of the dynamic which has developed.

"The leaders shared the view that there is an opportunity for them to move forward without any delay. They set out and shared their hopes for the future of Cyprus.... They committed themselves to move along in a constructive way," Eide concluded.

A small group of Greek and Turkish Cypriots gathered outside the hotel waving banners reading "Yes to the future" and "Solution now" in Greek and Turkish. Endit